-
It's a pandemic predicament. With only 1 recorded case of COVID-19 in their island nation, Tongans are desperate for help after the volcanic eruption — but eager to keep the virus out.
-
A station to detect nuclear weapons tests picked up the volcanic eruption in Tonga from Antarctica. Some experts say the blast could be more than 50 megatons, while NASA estimates 6-10 megatons.
-
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano in Tonga caused tsunamis in countries touching the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand and Japan to the U.S. West Coast — yet caused minimal damage to the Hawaiian islands, which are geographically closer than some of the more affected locations. Scientists think that has to do with the atmosphere.
-
Lisala Folau told a local broadcaster about his swimming journey, which lasted more than a day and took him to three islands. Social media users hearing his story are calling him "real-life Aquaman."
-
The eruption severed Tonga's single fiber-optic cable, rendering the Pacific archipelago offline and unable to communicate with the rest of the world. Flights brought bottled water and other supplies.
-
Video of tsunami surges in Oregon and on Kauaʻi have popped up on social media. Sea Quest Hawaii, a snorkeling tour company on the Big Island, was also impacted. It operates out of Keauhou Bay, just south of Kona. The Conversation called up its co-owner, Manu Powers, to get an idea of the damage.
-
Amid the 7.6-magnitude quake, the single fiber optic cable that the archipelago relied on for global communications ruptured.
-
Researchers who have been studying the volcano since 2015 say it was likely caused by seawater flowing into a chamber filled with magma.
-
Despite sitting almost on top of the volcano that erupted so violently, the Pacific nation of Tonga appears to have avoided the widespread devastation that many initially feared.
-
New Zealand and Australia have sent military surveillance flights to assess the damage caused by a huge undersea volcanic eruption in Tonga. Communications with the Pacific island nation have been limited since Saturday's eruption.